Victorian Era Child Labor

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Transcript of Victorian Era Child Labor

Victorian Era Child LabourFONTSWhat dangers did the children face working in the factories?Some children who were smaller, would be bent over all day, working in mine shafts, could have back pain or other back problems. The children of the Victorian Era did not have any laws to protect them, which made the children easier to discipline other than the adults. Children working in factories faced harsh discipline and punishment by whipping. What kind of jobs did the children have?During this time period, children had many different types of jobs to do. Younger children, 4 and 5 years old, had jobs like plaiting straw hats, basting hems, and making artificial flowers. Working class children, were often employed in factories or workhouses, and on farms. Some other jobs the children completed were mining, iron working, chimney sweeps, working on rail roads, working in mills, and manufacturing. Older children's jobs were carrying or pulling coal, they did that by pulling the coal carts on their backs.This is a picture of a little boy who is a chimney sweep.What is sweating?Economically helpless workers were in the sewing or tailoring industry. In the Victorian Era, there was a system that was called "sweating", or subcontracting work. That system was were a person hired another person or people, to complete their work. Workers in the sewing and tailoring business used the system of "sweating", because the work they had to complete was hard on their eyes. The work was endless until the person who did the work paid for a garment of the cost. The money they made from doing that work was shared between the workers. A hiring middleman was called a "sweater" and his or her business was called a "sweat shop".This picture shows 2 boys working in a factory. Why did families have their children work?Families in the Victorian Era had their children work for a couple of reasons. The main reason was because the families needed money, they tried to get as much money as they could. They needed that money for things like food, water, and materials or supplies. Some children did not care that they had to work, they understood that their families needed them to. They also had their children work to understand the value of hard work and discipline. Families and employers also needed their labour. This is a picture of a family working together. When families work, they are only split up when they work in work houses.Why did children not have an education?In the Victorian Era, families did not believe in education. They thought that it was more important to get money, to work, than having an education for their children. After many years of child labour, a law protected children. That law was passed by the late 19th century in Britain. Children's lives began to transform. They went to school instead of working, and they were finally treated like children instead of "little adults". Fun FactsIn 1788, a law was enforced that young people should not be chimney sweeps but, because of their agility and size, they were still used for much of the 19th century. Also during that time period, people started recognizing that education was important, for the wealthy ruling class. Textile factories, under the Factory Act, were forced to provide 2 hours of education to people 13 and under everyday. What dangers did the children face working in the factories?There were many dangers that the children faced in the factories. For example, children could get their arms or other body parts stuck in machines. Other times a machine could cut off a finger or harm another part of the body. Children's teeth could rot and their lungs could be injured because of all the smoke from the machines in the factories. Some children could even die from explosions in the factory or other work places. Most of the time, the children were working with dangerous machinery. This is a picture of children working together in a factory.This is a picture of 2 boys working in a mill.This picture shows a older boy who is pulling carts of coal on his back. In the picture above, a young child is working on a farm. This is one of many types of jobs children had..